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Born Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi, the 54 years old, former Super Eagles gaffer spent his childhood days in the Northern town of Azare, in present day Bauchi State. But it was in the hallowed football turfs of the famous St. Finbarrs College, Akoka, Yaba that the departed Illah, Delta State indigene honed his soccer skills. St. Finbarrs was noted for its exploits in soccer up to the 1980s. In the colours of the school, Keshi won many laurels including the Principals Cup, then a flagship tournament for school boys which produced many soccer stars including Raymond King, Henry Nwosu, Franklin Howard and Ademola Adeshina.

By 1979, and at the tender age of 18, Keshi’s talent in the round leather game had caught the eyes of then Lagos based Nigerian League side ACB Football club. Afterwards he signed for New Nigerian Bank FC of Benin, where his defence marshalling skills blossomed. He captained the team until 1984 when he left the shores of the country in search of the golden fleece of soccer. However, the former Nigerian International made a stop over in Coted’ivoire where he starred for two clubsides namely Staded’Abidjan and African Sports FC.

He earned his first call up to the senior national team, then known as the Green Eagles way back in 1981 and barely a year later, he made the cut for the Nigerian Squad to the 1982 African Nations Cup in Libya, which was eventually won by the Abedi Pele inspired Black Stars of Ghana. By the mid eighties, Stephen Keshi’s influence as a key player of the national team had soared. Fondly remembered as one of the pioneers of what the sporting media termed as the foreign legion, he  opened the way for the later generation of Nigerian players to play in Europe.

Having made a sterling mark at Belgian top division side FC Lokeren, he moved on to become the captain of RC Anderlecht, a feat that was very rare in those days. Keshi left Belgium in 1991 for French first division side RC Strasbourg (1991 – 1993). He was in the twilight of his playing career at RWDM when he captained the Super Eagles team that won the African Nations Cup in far away Tunisia in 1994. He made history as the captain of the first Nigerian senior national team to qualify for the Senior World Cup. Prior to the kick off of the USA’ 94 World Cup, the Super Eagles (with Keshi as captain) was rated as the fifth best team in the world.

In 1996, Keshi and Augustine Eguavoen, also a former coach of the Super Eagles, played together in California as the backbone of the defence for a US Major League side, Sacramento Scorpions until 1997. Nicknamed the Big Boss in reference to his sterling leadership skills as Super Eagles captain, he quit active soccer in 1998 after a stint at Perils F.A. also in the U.S. League.

Stephen Keshi’s record with the senior national team reads of 64 appearances and 9 goals, which is quite commendable for, a defender. His couduct off the pitch is also worthy of mention. He played the big brother role to most players of African descent in Europe, during his days Belgium in particular. He was known to have helped revive the careers of Phillip Osondu, former Nigerian youth international and Nii Odartey Lamptey of Ghana. But for the intervention of the ‘Big Boss’ both players would have languished in their respective Belgian clubsides.

His retirement from professional soccer some paved the way for what went on to become an illustrious career in coaching. He perfected the act in the United States and was certified as a manager in 2000. He coached the Flying Eagles which eventually lost the ticket to the 2001 World Youth Championship. Before he became the head coach of the Super Eagles in 2011, Keshi had handled the senior national teams of Togo and Mali.

He made history as the first coach to qualify the Togolese national team to the World Cup (Germany 2006). Surprisingly, Keshi was not allowed to enjoy the fruit of his labour as the Togolese F.A. instead, hired Otto Pfister to lead the team to the Mundial. The ‘Big Boss’ guided the Les Aiglons of Mali to a group stage finish at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola.

Keshi’s return to the Super Eagles, this time as the Head Coach, put him on the part of history once again. He led the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2013 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa, which they went on to win, 1 – 0 after a pulsating finals with Burkina Faso. The moment the Joseph Yobo captained side lifted the trophy, Keshi had gone into the record books as the first Nigerian and the second African to clinch the most coveted African soccer diadem both as a coach and as a player. The record was set by the late Egyptian Legend Mahmoud El – Gohary. The rest of what transpired after the Nations Cup victory has yet become history.

The celebrated Nigerian soccer legend, who died in the early hours of Wednesday, June quit the job as Super Eagles gaffer after a second round exit at the Brazil 2014 world cup. Just before he passed on, Keshi was reportedly linked with a coaching job at South African League club side Orlando Pirates.

Survived by four children and an aged mother, he had lost his wife Kate Nkem last December.